When the brother-sister team of Betty and Scott Sundborg pair up for sales calls, potential clients immediately feel at ease with the friendly, talkative duo. “Betty uses me as a selling tool,” Scott (sixth from right) says. His valuable input on wiring, gas lines, and plumbing allows the company’s designers to spot problems before the work begins.
Betty (fifth from right) spends her time in the Marin Kitchen Works showroom. She and another designer sell $15,000 to $40,000 bath remodels and $50,000 to $75,000 kitchen jobs. Several miles away at his home office, Scott handles production and runs the cabinet shop. Scott visits jobsites every week, but his team of six field employees handles day-to-day operations.
This teamwork attitude comes from being a family-based business. Betty and their father formed the business 30 years ago, and their mother worked there until her recent retirement.
Last year, the firm purchased a trailer to safely store cabinets until installation. They recently spent $20,000 to improve communication by networking the showroom and home office computers. Their latest venture is a handyman service to work on small jobs for past clients.